Back to Blood: A Novel

I've read everything Tom Wolf has written since "Kandy Kolored Tangerine Flake Streamline Baby" and I've enjoyed them all, some more than others. His best was "Bonfire of the Vanities". This is a return to form, but if the other Tom Wolfe was right (actually, "Thomas" to you) and you can't go home again, "Blood" is certainly a valiant try. In "Blood" he tries to do for Miami in the 2010s what he did in "Bonfire" in the 1980s, and with a remarkable degree of success considering that the template is pretty similar.

If you love Wolfe's descriptive style, his ability to create complex or offbeat characters and his facility in bringing a place to vivid life, you'll like "Blood" even if it is best seen as a reminder of how good "Bonfire" was.

A side note - I read this book on a combination of the Audible.com narrated version and the Kindle version, thanks to the store's Whispersync technology. Aside from the fact that the technology is very cool, reading part and hearing part reminded me of how creatively Wolfe utilizes onomatopoeia and creative punctuation to bring his books to life. Hearing it read by Lou Diamond Phillips is a pleasure. It's clear what a challenge Wolfe presents to the audio book narrator, and Phillips gives something more akin to a performance than a reading. I found myself missing his voice and his interpretation during the portions I read on Kindle.

Nothing like a simple love story played against the back drop billionaires, porn, egotistical psychiatrists, art swindlers, big time editors, and street cops. I felt like I had lost a friend when I finished the book.

Five points for Mr. Wolfe if he should read this:

1- The bow of a cigarette racing boat rises when is is accelerating then the bow lowers as it planes out.
2- Cigarette boats got their name because they were used to smuggle American cigarettes to Cuba after the embargo. Cigars were smuggled on the return trip.
3- Inflammable and flammable mean essentially the same thing.
4- When did ::::::: become punctuation for thoughts?
5- Ironic was used - in my view - incorrectly several times in a passage but I annot find it.

Since Bonfire of the Vanities, Tom Wolfe's books have been disappointing. While this one may be an interesting view of the culture of Miami, it's pretty far-fetched, like a comic book. Maybe that's what Wolfe was going for.

I thought the humor was weaker than some past works, and the ending was rather abrupt, but It is still an entertaining account of life in modern day Miami. It is largely politically incorrect, which I always like!

I just love the way Tom Wolfe creates his characters. In this latest novel, you can't help but cheer on the hero of the book; and his insight of the "art" Basel is deliciously amusing. Loved this as all his other novels. A very entertaining read.

As one would expect the book is very well written. It concerns that attitudes of various racial groups in Miami. In particular the attitude of the large Cuban population in that city who vilify one of their own who although he saves a life in an act of heroism is rejected by the community because the person whose life he saves is returned to Cuba for reasons that have nothing to do with our hero. The book also deals with the underlying corruption that appears to drive the city.
A very good read.

These are rich characters in some parts and paper thin characters in others. The Cuban community and it's clout in Miami is well done, as are the pseudo-hip art world and party scene of the wealthy. Ultimately, the parallel stories arrive at the same place, as is common is Mr. Wolfe, and the ending is tolerable though left me somewhat unfulfilled. Not the best Wolfe, but that's still better than most. But if Russian mobsters were as stupid as depicted they would be extinct.

Absorbing, fast-paced, smart. Tom Wolfe gives us a look at the people of Miami, choosing characters with a range of ethnicity and socioeconomic levels,and writes a story that comes together nicely. As a New Yorker, and remembering Bonfire of the Vanities, it was an interesting view of that demographic. He uses humor so well that I laughed out loud at a few scenes. The onomatopoeia is always an interesting addition and helps bring the scenes to life. Read it with an open mind as some might be offended at some of the character portrayals. It's just Wolfe 'keeping it real'.

Another Tom Wolfe Urban mash-up; the very rich, the really poor, the clueless rich and the clueless poor. It's Miami location was vivid, Wolfe's exploration of ethnic tensions always a staple in his novels.

This was a lively story and very difficult to put down. I was sorry when it ended because it will likely be at least a few more years before Wolfe's next novel arrives.

Although it was not quite as good as Bonfire of the Vanities, it is still a terrific book. The story had great characters that get their texture from the way they handle those who are above them and below them on the food chain.

There is a fair amount of "The Emperor's New Suit" built into the story, particularly the plot lines involving the art world. If you are a Tom Wolfe fan and were disappointed by "I Am Charlotte Simmons", I think you will find this book is a solid comeback.

This book needs editing. It's an interesting story, but it has more extraneous side stories that are less than interesting.They are written to address more prurient themes. I've read all od his books and this does not live up to expectations.

Wolfe relies on the sensational in all of his works, and manages to pull it off well in most cases. Back to Blood is a fairly thin attempt at making a statement with some of Wolfe's flair, but often just sensationalism or heavy handed plot. Then again, it's not just airport best seller fodder -- Tom Wolfe writes well, and I enjoy his unconstrained style enough to read the whole book, hoping for the parts that do shine through from time to time.

"Back to Blood" follows the tried and true Tom Wolfe formula. The ongoing assimilation of different ethnic groups with the backdrop of "hot" American cities has been the theme in "Bonfire" and "A Man in Full." The character development here is very good, but the ending is so abrupt that it is a surprise. Reading it, I felt that the book was going to go on for another hundred pages or so, however it literally ended in about two pages after much buildup.

Still, no one writes like Tom Wolfe in character development and research. Hopefully he goes on and on.

I hesitantly give this book three stars, as I admire the way Wolfe portrays the silliness of our culture. However, I did not appreciate all the "non words" over and over again. The story was weak, the characters unsympathetic and unlikeable, except perhaps, Nestor.

I love Tom Wolfe's use of language. Episodically. His writing style has such an impact that I really savour his books, but find subsequent reading dull by comparison for too long after reading them, such is their usual intensity. However much I enjoyed this one- and I did enjoy it - Tom has mellowed. And the finish

Let me start by saying that I loved Chrlotte Simmons, and I usually really love Tom Wolfe's writing. I only finished the book because I paid so much for it. I really never cared about one single character, and that always makes a book difficult. Other reviewers objected to the sex, but all of Wolfe's books are sexual so that shouldn't surprise anyone. Candidly, it was just flat boring. I do not recommend it!

Tom Wolfe writes with some very distincitve characteristics. One is his unorthodox use of punctuation. One way he does this is to signify a gap in a character's thoughts, or maybe more correctly described as a pause in their thoughts. Interesting a few times but it's done so much that it gets distracting. Another is constant humor, silliness even. Funny often but also sometimes tiresome and distracting. Almost all the characters are mostly unlikeable, but that's ok, they're funny in their self-centeredness. I didn't come away from this novel feeling changed or like I had to get someone else to read it but I didn't feel ripped off and I was entertained.

There were some great characters and a fresh view of modern America. The over-the-top writing is getting a bit tedious, but was not the real problem. The problem was the ending, which felt like the clock had run out and he had to hand something in to meet a deadline. It's cruising along..and zap...it ends with really no resolution. Time to clock out. It was worth the read, but not happy with its abrupt end.

...to read Tom Wolfe any more. Revisiting my reading experience, I have to say that in many ways, this was his most brilliant work. The problem is, what's good about this book isn't what has kept me reading Tom Wolfe novels--"Bonfire of the Vanities", "A Man in Full", "I am Charlotte Simmons"--over the last few years. All of them have been quite literate, all of them have, in places, abandoned traditional prose approach. None of them were recognisably like "Back to Blood". Wolfe really stepped off the pier here.

In the previous books, I was enthralled by story. The conflicts and actions of the story were paramount, particularly in "A Man in Full". The story in "Back to Blood" seems a token milk-sop to guys like me (and a reviewer named "Trevor fast-read" from Capetown). The story takes a back seat to other important, well constructed elements that literati have traditionally prized.

Characterization:
Wolfe's characters have always been fully realized. He always fleshes them out and convinces us they are real people he has hijacked for his novels. The criticism in this book is that he has dwelt too fully on characters that have only an oblique relationship and impact upon the story. Examples abound. The first one is Ed Topping IV's wife. The first scene in the book introduces her vividly as seen through the eyes of her husband, who finds his assimilation skills taxed by the Miami environment. While she does little in this scene (the prologue) we feel like we know her and understand her motivations. The second and best example is a teacher at the Everglades University. His name is Lantier (pronounced LAN-TEE-YAY). He probably has a first name, and Wolfe may have disclosed it, but if he did, it was embedded in his reams of esoteric prose. He spends an entire chapter introducing Lantier, using him only to introduce other characters--his wife Louisette, his daughter, a major character, Ghislaine and his son, a minor character, Phillipe.)
Lantier fancies himself as French. He actually hails from Haiti, and such is an appendage of a significant, little appreciated, troublesome Miami minority. He is owned by his house (under-water) and the Frenchness it pursues and blends with. He can't afford it, so Philippe languishes in a brutal inner-city urban high school. Ghislaine, imaged as a perfect one, or nearly so, is a university student herself, and an important character with no real personality. She's more a china doll.
The truly major characters, Nestor Camacho and Magdalena, are both 2nd generation Cubans, and suffer for it. Many other important characters cross the stage, but most of the action pivots around Nestor and Magdalena.

Culture Clash
The primary theme of the book is that Miami is, above all, a clash--a violent clash--of disparate cultures. The prologue is a sustained metaphor comparing the passion of the Cuban culture with the staid conservatism of the previously dominent WASP power structure in Miami. The Lantier introduction deals with the Haitian, and by association, the black culture, which has succeeded in capturing the office of the police chief. All other leadership roles from the Mayor down are held by Cubans.

Prose Style
This is where the author loses people and, in fact, loses stars. Most people don't read novels with poetic expectation. But poetry is close to what some of this prose poses as. It's not enough for Wolfe to just tell the story, he has to offer the sounds, and the smells and the tactile expressions. He has to offer you the ability to find body odor in a demitasse spoon. He inserts ALL CAPS. He changes to italics. He even invents a punction mechanic--the SEXTA-COLON--a string of at least six colons used as beginning or end of what can only be called a "colonic expression" (as opposed to a parenthetical one!) He would offer a thought.::::::then would amplify, destroy, reduce, modify or embellish that thought::::::all in one of his sexta-colonic setoffs. For Wolfe, the prose has to be a visible experience. You must teach yourself how to read him as he is. He remains super-literate in several languages. His vocabulary is unlimited, and any word can appear--appropriately, of course--anywhere. This stylistic bent has always been his, but in previous works, it took a back seat, a DISTANT back seat, to a compelling story. Not so here.

The story is simple and would be told by mere mortal authors in about two hundred pages, perhaps a schmear more. A young Cubano cop wows us with spectacular feats of strength, physical prowess, devotion to duty and focus, only to be frustrated by constantly being on the wrong side of political correctness. The book opens to the most challenging couple of days of his life. He is discarded by his family, his community and his lover, but the police force stays over. He steps up to the plate one more time a little later, and through contorted circumstances almost loses the protection of the police as well. He persists in being a "good cop" through the balance of the book, but never really acquires the reward he richly deserves.

The same is true of the craven politicians steering the action. They never get the satisfying upbraiding they deserve either. In that regard, this is a spectacular book. No need to suspend disbelief at any point. While it paints an unlikely collage--a collage because one of the points is that the separate pieces of Miami just don't flow together smoothly--it is certainly a possible, perhaps even a believeable one.

Could I upgrade this book to four or five stars? I'll think about it and read it again next month.

I like this book. The writing, interspersing narrative and dialogue with incidental sounds and thought bubbles, gives a strong sense of place and action. I feel like the dialogue is real; a sense of the emotion and lack of it comes through in every exchange.

I'm still only five chapters in so I am anticipating a lot more action. I have already developed a connection with the characters and am looking forward to high entertainment.

I am halfway through the book. The punctuation is a sheer nightmare but I appreciate that Tom Wolfe recognizes racial tensions in America and the book is very funny. Too often Caucasians dance around the issue or try to spin idealistic crappy frou frou stories with fairytale endings. It is a bit too long. He could accomplish the novel in 80 to 90 thousand words.::::::::I enjoy the South Florida setting of the story and don't want to go home:::::::::!!!!!!

I am in the strange position of agreeing with quite a few reviews of this book, even though the reviews were all over the place. "Back to Blood" is disappointing when compared to "Bonfire of the Vanities" and "A Man in Full," just as "A Man in Full" was disappointing when compared to "Bonfires" (though it's interesting that "A Man" is now put in the same league as "Bonfires" even though it was said to pale by comparison when it first came out). But when viewed on its own, "Back to Blood" contains many of the same elements that made Tom Wolfe's other two "big" novels wonderful - the insane caricatured characters, the idiosyncrasies and beats of a great city, and lots of snap-crackling good dialogue. I do think that Mr. Wolfe gets carried away quite a bit (e.g., the "hockhockhock" of Dr. Lewis gets tiresome pretty quickly) and resorts to the same clever gimmicks too often, but no one matches Wolfe for his ability to create a wacky chronicle of our times.

Anothe point in the book's favor is that, well, it's just fun to read. Maybe it's too silly for some people, but it's just a fun read and contains some (many?) of the elements that make Wolfe terrific to read.

Goes back and forth from a story about lower income people, ultra high-income people and middle income people. Happily, it all comes together in an excellent story. I even got used to Wolfe's habit of creating his own punctuation marks that allow him to freely go from third person omnicient to first person fairly seamlessly.

That is an authentic Tom Wolfe's style book, which follows the successful model inaugurated by Bonfire of Vanities and continued on A Man in Full and I Am Charlotte Simmons. Along the last 25 years, the writer may justifiably claim to have built a rich and credible portrait of America.
What I like in the book is what I had expected to find: a dissection of niche cultures, a well structured storyline, wittiness and irony (in small doses than in other books, although).
However, I have missed the absence of unforgettable scenes like the wagon-train time in Bonfire and the saddlebags in A Man.
All in all, quite entertaining, specially for Tom Wolfe hardcore fans.

Who renders as lifelike regional stories of sociocultural change like Wolfe?

The events unfolding in Back to Blood are informed by the 'pissing monkey' story near the beginning of the book. The re-emergence of 'blood'-- given the erosion of moral and cultural infrastructure in America-- is pictured in terms of turning the tables on others. Characters are caught up in events orchestrated by visceral one-upsmanship. The reader gets a front-row view of this logic being played out in each episode. The kind of society shaped by this basic impulse is portrayed in terms foreign to actions based in principle or character.

Are we going back to the future?